Grammar school in Lincolnshire gets support to enable purchase of 160 iPads

We were asked by a grammar school in Lincolnshire to support them in the purchase of 160 iPads for all sixth form students.  Our remit not only focused on the purchase of the iPads at the most competitive price, but also on ensuring that the school's ICT infrastructure could support the devices.  Long term the schools wants to purchase an iPad for every student - around 1,120 in total.

In order to design and implement a successful ICT procurement project we needed to understand the current infrastructure and the overall ICT strategy to make sure these were aligned with the iPad rollout.  We conducted a technical audit and interview process in conjunction with the key stakeholders before presenting a report to the decision makers within the school. The findings of this report have helped us to deliver the required services, ensuring that the iPads will integrate into the current network.

We have developed an Audit Engagement Process which goes beyond core procurement. We start to segment the ICT networks by understanding and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the school's network before any purchasing decisions are considered.  The school engaged fully in this process. The result is a 'traffic light' system of recommendations that ensure everyone understands the action plan for the roll out of the iPads.